Opals star Cayla George shuts down the ‘R-word’ and signs with WNBL club Southside Flyers
Memo to media and fans: don’t bother asking Cayla George when she’s retiring. The bronzed Opal won’t be giving the game away any time soon as she enters an 18th WNBL season in new colours.
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Aussie women’s basketball great Cayla George is so tired of being asked about the ‘R-word’ she’s come up with the best possible answer – a new three-year deal with Southside Flyers.
The 36-year-old is heading into her 18th season in the WNBL and remains one of the league’s marquee performers. Despite that, George, since she turned 30, says there’s been an unhealthy obsession with when she’s going to give it away.
She’s got a point – in the past six years, George has won championships in the WNBL, WNBA and in Taiwan, MVP gongs in Australia and World Cup and Olympic bronze medals.
And she’s showing no signs of slowing down, this week jetting out for China with the Opals ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup.
“The big R-word? I’ve never once mentioned the R-word at all,” George laughed.
“Since I’ve turned 30, I’ve had people question whether I’m going to have a baby soon or when I’m retiring, telling me I’m too old.
“I feel like, as a female athlete, that’s just kind of what we get when we turn 30. It’s tiring.
“After Tokyo, I read things like I should be retiring. People talk s**t about me online. If I have a bad game, they’ll tell me I’m a clown or a joker for thinking I can still play.
“That’s actually f***ing wild.
“I might be ageing, yes, but I’m still contributing. I’m still helping my team win. I’m still having a great time and I still feel like I’ve got a lot left to give.”
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George, who, last season, averaged 12.5ppg, 9.6rpg, 3.8apg, 1.6spg, and 1.4bpg in a key role that pushed the Sydney Flames’ to their first WNBL playoff appearance in seven years, reunites with long-time mentor Kristi Harrower at the Flyers, whispers of the move first revealed by Code Sports on May 30.
Harrower’s experience navigating the professional landscape as an older athlete was part of Southside’s lure. A four-time Olympian, Harrower, in 2015, called time on her career at age 39 – at the same time revealing she was pregnant.
“I feel like I connect really well with Kristi and she played at the highest level as an older athlete and she has my back in that space,” George said.
“I like that Kristi has respect for me in the sense that she feels I’ve still got a lot more to give, because that’s how I feel, too.”
It’s not just on the court George will impact for Southside – Harrower said she’ll lean into the four-time champion’s extensive basketball knowledge as she works to lift the Flyers off the bottom of the table.
“She is an exceptional addition to our roster, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team,” Harrower said.
“Her understanding of the game and knack for winning are invaluable assets that will elevate our performance.
“Cayla’s unselfish playing style and commitment to teamwork will undoubtedly help guide and inspire our players as we strive for success this season.”
The South Australian-born inside-outside force’s Flyers’ contract is guaranteed for the next two seasons, with the third an option that will take her to 2028.
And she hasn’t ruled out suiting up for a fourth Olympiad in LA. She’ll be 39 then. The great Lauren Jackson, who led the Flyers to the 2024 WNBL title, did it in Paris at age 42.
“If I’m still playing and I’m good enough to be there and I make the team, you bloody ripper: fourth Olympics, here I bloody come,” she said.
“I still have hunger in the belly for more.
“But, if I don’t make that team, I’ve been to three Olympics, and I’m an Olympic medallist.
“Once we won that bronze medal in Paris, it gave me more peace than I’ve ever had in that space in my whole career.
“Maybe I can bring some veteran leadership and experience for the World Cup next year and for the Olympics in ‘28.”
George revealed while her focus remained firmly on basketball, she’d still “love to give Pearly some siblings”.
Pearl is George’s daughter, 2, who is the undoubted shining star of one of Australian basketball’s most heartwarming stories.
George has long been open about her struggles with fertility as a professional athlete. She and partner Kailou were, in 2022, gifted a child by his sister Serena in a Torres Strait Islander tradition known as Kupai Omasker.
George has not ruled out her own pregnancy, taking inspiration from her great mentor, Opals coach Sandy Brondello, who had her two children at age 38 and 41.
“Look, I definitely would love to (have more children) at some point but I don’t know what that looks like for me, It’s a bit more of a conflict situation for me,” George said.
“I mean, I’ve just signed a three-year deal with the Flyers, so I’ll probably see that through and then see what goes from there.
“Sandy had her two kids after she finished playing at 38, so there’s no reason why I can’t do it at the later stage of my life.”
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Originally published as Opals star Cayla George shuts down the ‘R-word’ and signs with WNBL club Southside Flyers
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